Elmira men charged with stealing fire system parts from mall hotels

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By Derrick Ekek@the-leader.com

The Steuben Courier Advocate

By Derrick Ekek@the-leader.com

Posted May. 7, 2014 at 2:55 PM

By Derrick Ekek@the-leader.com

Posted May. 7, 2014 at 2:55 PM

Two Elmira men have been arrested for allegedly stealing brass fittings from fire suppression systems at the Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn near the Arnot Mall in Big Flats, then selling the parts at scrap yards.

According to Horseheads-based New York State Police, the fire system parts were reported stolen from the hotels on Friday.

State police alerted local scrap yards of the thefts, asking them to contact police if anyone brought such items to their facilities to sell. A representative of Schulman Co. later contacted state police and said the scrap yard had a transaction Friday fitting the description of the stolen fittings.

Schulman Co. gave state police photocopies of the suspect’s driver’s licenses that had been made during the transaction.

On Thursday, Shulman Co. called 911 and reported that the two suspects were back at the facility with more scrap. Officers from the Elmira Police Department went to the scrap yard and detained the two suspects for state police.

Weber and Anderson were then taken to the Horseheads state police barracks for questioning, and admitted to stealing the brass fittings from the hotels, police say.

Weber and Anderson are scheduled to appear in Big Flats Town Court at 7 p.m. May 15.